German village to be razed for coal mine – Global coal consumption rises to all-time high amidst energy crisis

6) Big coal miners’ profits triple as global demand surges
Financial Times, 28 December 2022

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1) German village to be razed for coal mine
Associated Press, 2 January 2023Scuffles broke out on Monday outside a village in western Germany that is to be razed to allow the expansion of a coal mine, a plan that is drawing resistance from climate activists.

Activists built barricades and set them on fire while the police prepared for the planned eviction of the village Luetzerath.(AP: Henning Kaiser/dpa )

Activists threw fireworks, bottles and stones at police outside the village of Luetzerath before the situation calmed down and officers pulled back, German news agency dpa reported.

Protesters previously had set up a burning barricade, and one person glued his hand to the access road.

The hamlet is to be demolished to expand the Garzweiler lignite mine, despite protests from environmentalists who fear millions more tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere.

Activists have been living in houses abandoned by former residents.

The Heinsberg county administration has issued an order barring people from Luetzerath and, if they fail to leave, authorizing police to clear the village from January 10 onward. Officials have called for a non-violent end to the activists’ occupation.

In October, the federal and regional governments — both of which include the environmentalist Green party — and energy company RWE agreed to bring forward the exit from coal use in the region by eight years to 2030.

But, amid concerns about Germany’s energy security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the agreement also foresees the life of two power plant units that were supposed to be switched off earlier being extended until at least 2024 and Luetzerath being razed to enable further mining.

see also: Germany revives coal as energy security trumps climate goals

2) German finance minister calls for lifting fracking ban
Clean Energy Wire, 2 January 2023

Germany’s finance minister Christian Lindner has renewed his call for allowing the controversial fracking technology to increase gas supplies. “The ban should be lifted,” the head of the Free Democrats (FDP) told tabloid Bild am Sonntag.

“Then private investors can decide whether extraction is economical. Compared to gas from other regions of the world, I expect competitive advantages.” Lindner said that liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports are more expensive than Russian pipeline gas for logistical reasons, adding the price level will remain higher. Lindner’s position is in marked contrast to that of his coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD)  and the Greens.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Green economy minister Robert Habeck have repeatedly rejected the technology.
Scholz said in December it was not worth exploiting domestic natural gas reserves using fracking technology because it would take too long to start production, and because gas demand is expected to fall. He also said there was “no support whatsoever in society for exploiting these reserves in Germany.” Scholz compared fracking to a mirage: “If you get close to it, it vanishes into thin air.” Habeck reiterated his rejection in late 2022. “This does not lead to a sensible answer,” Habeck said in November, adding the technology would lead to all sort of problems.

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3) Germany considers €1 billion in support for 10 fossil fuel projects overseas
Climate Home News, 9 December 2022

Germany is considering support for at least 10 foreign fossil fuel projects worth over €1 billion ($1bn), despite its pledge to end international funding for coal, oil and gas.  

In response to a parliamentary question from a left-wing German lawmaker, the state secretary at the ministry of economic affairs and climate action Udo Philipp said the government is considering 10 applications for export credit guarantees for fossil energy projects in Brazil, Iraq, Uzbekistan, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.

A breakdown of the projects accompanying the response shows that €419 million ($442m) or around 40% of the funding, could go to a single project in Brazil. Three of the projects totalling €340m ($359m) are located in Iraq and four are in Cuba.

Other fossil fuel projects could be under consideration by the German state-owned investment and development bank KfW. The bank does not disclose projects it hasn’t decided to support.

Germany was among 16 countries to sign a pledge at Cop26 in Glasgow last year to end international funding for fossil fuel projects by the end of 2022.

Ten have published policies showing how they will restrict funding to coal, oil and gas. But Germany has not adopted a policy because of internal divisions over exemptions for gas.

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4) Global coal consumption rises to all-time high amidst energy crisis
Mining Review Africa, 2 January 2023

Even though global coal demand is set to increase only marginally this year, it is enough to push it to an all-time high, amidst the global energy crises, says the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The IEA’s latest Coal 2022 report forecasts that the world’s coal consumption will remain at similar levels in the next few years in the absence of strong efforts to accelerate the transition to clean energy use.

The use of coal around the world is set to rise by 1.2% in 2022, surpassing 8 billion tonnes in a single year for the first time. This would eclipse the previous record set in 2022, says the IEA.

Coal usage will eventually decline, but not yet
Based on current market trends, the Coal 2022 report forecasts that coal consumption will then remain flat until around 2025. Declines in mature markets will be offset by continued robust demand in emerging Asian economies.

This means coal will continue to be the global energy system’s largest single source of carbon dioxide emissions by far.

Expected coal demand for 2022 is very close to what the IEA forecast in their Coal 2021 report a year ago, even if coal markets have been shaken up by a range of conflicting forces since then.

The global energy crisis has led to high natural gas prices and an increased reliance on coal to generate power. At the same time, slowing economic growth has reduced electricity demand and industrial output. Also, power generation from renewable sources has risen to a new record.

The world’s largest coal consumer China has experienced a heat wave and drought, pushing up coal power generation during summer. This happened even as strict COVID-19 restrictions slowed demand.

Keisuke Sadamori, IEA Director of Energy Markets and Security says the world is close to a peak in fossil fuel use, with coal set to be the first to decline, “but we are not there yet.

“Coal demand is stubborn and will likely reach an all-time high this year, pushing up global emissions. At the same time, there are many signs that today’s crisis is accelerating the deployment of renewables, energy efficiency and heat pumps – and this will moderate coal demand in the coming years. Government policies will be key to ensuring a secure and sustainable path forward.”

Supply and demand of global coal consumption

The international coal market will remain tight in 2022, as coal demand for power generation hits a new record. Coal prices rose to unprecedented levels in March, and then again in June. The price went up thanks to the global energy crises, spikes in natural gas prices, adverse weather conditions in key international supplier Australia.

Europe has been heavily affected by Russia’s reduction in natural gas glow and is now on course to increase coal consumption for a second year in a row. Still, by 2025 European coal demand is expected to decline below 2020 levels.

China, India and Indonesia, the world’s three largest coal producers, will all hit production records in 2022. The world’s third largest coal exporter in the World Russia has been banned and sanctioned in many countries because it invaded Ukraine. This has resulted in a reshuffling of global trade as buyers seek alternative supplies. The gap left by Russian coal supplies in Europe has been largely filled by South Africa, Colombia, Tanzania, Botswana and other smaller producers.

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5) Despite bold climate pledges global coal demand to remain high for years to come
OilPrice.com, 2 January 2023

Despite bold climate pledges from a plethora of major world powers, it seems that many are unable to break their addiction to coal, as consumption is set to hit an all-time high (once again).

Several countries have launched climate strategies that include the phasing out of coal production and use over the coming decades, however with gas shortages and a long road to getting enough renewable energy operations running to meet global demand, many continue to rely on coal for power and industry. While coal use is expected to decrease in the long term, to be replaced by natural gas and renewable alternatives, demand is set to remain strong in 2023.

This month, an International Energy Agency (IEA) report suggested that coal consumption is expected to hit an all-time high and remain stable between 2022 and 2025 unless the transition to cleaner alternatives speeds up.

Coal consumption was forecast to increase by 1.2 percent in 2022, the highest level ever recorded. In its Coal 2022 report, the IEA highlighted the shortage and costliness of gas as a major reason for the ongoing reliance on coal in Europe. Coal use is increasing despite the drop in iron and steel production, by around 1 percent, as the global economic crisis has meant lower output levels. But without the wind or solar power capacity needed to meet demand, Europe has switched back to coal to meet its needs, with an expected rise of 2 percent in coal used for electricity production this year.

The IEA’s expectation for a plateau in coal demand for the next three years is based on an anticipated movement away from coal to cleaner energy options, as well as the expected increase in coal use in emerging economies in Asia. As several countries worldwide release ambitious climate pledges and invest heavily in renewable energy, while also attempting to decarbonize their economies, coal is expected to remain the largest single source of CO2 emissions by far, according to the IEA. Keisuke Sadamori, the IEA’s Director of Energy Markets and Security, stated: “The world is close to a peak in fossil fuel use, with coal set to be the first to decline, but we are not there yet.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February this year has altered predictions on energy use in Europe and other parts of the world as a major oil and gas supply suddenly went offline, with several countries imposing sanctions on Russian energy. Many European states that were hoping to make progress in their shift away from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives suddenly found themselves fighting for their energy security and turning to unlikely sources – like coal and nuclear power.

The IEA’s report stated, “Coal markets have been shaken severely in 2022, with traditional trade flows disrupted, prices soaring and demand set to grow by 1.2%, reaching an all-time high and surpassing 8 billion metric tons for the first time.”

Environmentalists are deeply concerned about this ongoing reliance on coal, which releases not only carbon dioxide into the atmosphere but also sulfur dioxide, particulates, and nitrogen oxides. Scientists see coal as a significant barrier to limiting global warming, as a major contributor to climate change.

The U.K., which said it would no longer use coal to generate electricity starting in 2024, one year earlier than originally planned, approved a new coal mine this month in a surprise shift in its approach to the fossil fuel. The Woodhouse Colliery in the northwest of England will be the country’s first new coal mine in 30 years and will provide coal mainly for export to Europe. The U.K. government expects the plant to be in operation until 2049, a year before the country plans to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.

Meanwhile, Asia’s coal market is expected to continue expanding rapidly for several years to come. Although China pledged to stop constructing new coal plants overseas, halting existing coal plans in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it continues to pump funds into its national coal developments. However, China insists that it is still on target to stop its coal market expansion in the coming years, with strict controls on coal included in the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025).

Coal demand also remains high in other parts of Asia, such as India and Indonesia. One Indonesia-based miner stated “Overall [coal] demand is expected to remain strong due to the robust economic outlook of countries like China, Indonesia, and India. The impact of war will gradually ease as countries are adapting to new trade flows… India and China may continue to buy Russian coal, while also expanding their domestic production.”

This is concerning for several reasons, firstly, as coal demand is set to remain high in Asia; secondly, because many of these countries are continuing to rely on Russia for their coal supply; and thirdly, as many Asian states have plans to construct more coal plants and boost national production. This suggests that even if Europe can rein in its coal addiction, this work will largely be counterbalanced by the increasing reliance on coal across Asia for years to come.